Hello DIYers,
Maybe ready to dip my toe into the DIY space and perhaps build a speaker or two. I was wondering if it might be feasible to acquire a speaker kit that makes use of the cabinets of my old NHT 2.5i speakers (For reference - http://www.audioexcite.com/?page_id=5386 -- pic attached -
drivers are 8" subwoofer, 6.5" midrange and 1" aluminum dome tweeter) that have lived in my garage for many years. The cabinets themselves are very well made, heavy and glossy and the unique driver placement always seemed cool to me when they were in use.
I suspect maybe trying to replace the drivers with a kit would prove impossible or inadvisable due to whatever crossover shenanigans were necessary to align the woofer driver in this strange orientation, but I figure asking here is the only way to know for sure. I'd love to hear that I'm wrong and re-using the cabinet with modern drivers of the right size and which are meant to work well together is worth exploring.
Many thanks!
Maybe ready to dip my toe into the DIY space and perhaps build a speaker or two. I was wondering if it might be feasible to acquire a speaker kit that makes use of the cabinets of my old NHT 2.5i speakers (For reference - http://www.audioexcite.com/?page_id=5386 -- pic attached -
drivers are 8" subwoofer, 6.5" midrange and 1" aluminum dome tweeter) that have lived in my garage for many years. The cabinets themselves are very well made, heavy and glossy and the unique driver placement always seemed cool to me when they were in use.
I suspect maybe trying to replace the drivers with a kit would prove impossible or inadvisable due to whatever crossover shenanigans were necessary to align the woofer driver in this strange orientation, but I figure asking here is the only way to know for sure. I'd love to hear that I'm wrong and re-using the cabinet with modern drivers of the right size and which are meant to work well together is worth exploring.
Many thanks!
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Do you just have the cabinets? Are the drivers missing or blown?
I've always been a fan of that era NHT, may just want to restore/repair them.
I've always been a fan of that era NHT, may just want to restore/repair them.
The drivers aren't missing, they're just damaged likely beyond repair. My goal is to choose and begin working on a project building a DIY speaker kit of some sort, I'm just curious really if re-using unconventional cabinet designs with drivers of the right size, etc, if that's something other folks do. Repairing them with the original drivers is kind of a different path, and I spent many years listening to them in that configuration too. I think the cabinet has potential and my gut tells me newer drivers would sound better in it. But if not I need to chuck them because they take up a lot of space in my garage. 😉
A challenging project but I love the cabinets, I don’t think there’s a kit that will help. You would need to understand interior cabinet volumes and configuration, find drivers which would be an improvement, this may be possible with research. DSP seems like the right crossover for tuning unless your cap-coil crossover design knowledge is deep. A complete speaker kit with cabinet or a known DIY project would deliver more predictable results. Still the resto-mod NHTs could be cool…
Have you tried the manufacturer for driver model numbers, specs, replacements, etc?
https://manualsdump.com/en/manuals/nht-2.5i/9282/2
https://www.simplyspeakers.com/NHT_bymfg_98-0-1.html
https://manualsdump.com/en/manuals/nht-2.5i/9282/2
https://www.simplyspeakers.com/NHT_bymfg_98-0-1.html
They do, as I said they're unusual. I don't know a lot about speaker design, can you take 3 drivers and a crossover meant to work together in a more conventional cabinet and stick them in something like this, that's my query.
Yes, but I'm not interested in just replacing the original drivers. It's new drivers or a landfill near-future for these boxes.
Don’t get hung up on the sideways pointing woofer… at those frequencies the bass is omnidirectional and the radiation is effectively spherical, so which direction the woofer points isn’t all that important.
So yes, you could use a ‘normal’ design as a starting point, but it will require tweaking, as the very narrow baffle makes a fairly significant change to the crossover.
Still, worth a try. 🙂
So yes, you could use a ‘normal’ design as a starting point, but it will require tweaking, as the very narrow baffle makes a fairly significant change to the crossover.
Still, worth a try. 🙂
Thanks this is really helpful.
Are you, or is anyone else aware of any speaker kits that simply use 3 drivers of the same size as the cabinet in question, that I might do some looking into? That is, an 8" woofer, a 6.5" midrange and the 1" tweeter. Thanks all! Appreciate all the comments
https://ezeescrossovers.com/favorite-links-resources
https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649557930-nht-25i/
https://www.parts-express.com/speaker-components/subwoofer-plate-amplifiers
You'll need to figure out the 2 cabinet volumes & go from there.
You could find a MT that fits the volume, then add the woofer & sub filter or find a 3 way design that fits the volume, adjust stuffing, etc.
**You could fill the MT cabinet with a proven DIY design & fill the subwoofer cabinet with a powered sub.
If you decide on a proven 3 way & the NHT cabinet sounds bad you could build the 3 way with the recommended cabinet.
https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649557930-nht-25i/
https://www.parts-express.com/speaker-components/subwoofer-plate-amplifiers
You'll need to figure out the 2 cabinet volumes & go from there.
You could find a MT that fits the volume, then add the woofer & sub filter or find a 3 way design that fits the volume, adjust stuffing, etc.
**You could fill the MT cabinet with a proven DIY design & fill the subwoofer cabinet with a powered sub.
If you decide on a proven 3 way & the NHT cabinet sounds bad you could build the 3 way with the recommended cabinet.
There is a kit "WaveBySide 223" for sale at lautsprechershop.de. It is reviewed in HOBBY HiFi 6/2018, designed by the magazine owner.
Thanks, that helps a ton. I hadn't realized there's two separate cabinets in that thing. With this and the added complexity involved of separate spaces, you know I think I'm going to scrap this idea and pick something simpler. Everyone who replied, thanks I appreciate it.
check out this review
http://www.audioexcite.com/?page_id=5386
"The upgraded NHT 2.5i loudspeaker used Scandinavian driver units from the Norwegian SEAS (tweeter) and the Danish Peerless (mid-woofer and sub-woofer) loudspeaker manufacturers’."
Looks like they used drivers from two common manufacturers. If it was me I would take them out and see what they actually are and see if they're still made or have an updated equivalent. You wouldn't have to redo the crossover (or at least not alter to the extent you would with a kit not designed for the cabinet) could potentially be a fairly easy project
http://www.audioexcite.com/?page_id=5386
"The upgraded NHT 2.5i loudspeaker used Scandinavian driver units from the Norwegian SEAS (tweeter) and the Danish Peerless (mid-woofer and sub-woofer) loudspeaker manufacturers’."
Looks like they used drivers from two common manufacturers. If it was me I would take them out and see what they actually are and see if they're still made or have an updated equivalent. You wouldn't have to redo the crossover (or at least not alter to the extent you would with a kit not designed for the cabinet) could potentially be a fairly easy project
from the above audioexcite site, drivers are Seas 27taf-d tweeter, Peerless 830301 mid, Peerless 830302 subwoofer.
You could try to find these.
(A) To save money you could just install a diy MT kit (calculate the box volume) and leave the subwoofer detached. You'll have a MT tower(MT w/built in base) 38" high.
Rockford Fosgate Box Calculator
https://rockfordfosgate.com/support/box-wizard/
(B) Later if you want- find a subwoofer driver (the audioexcite shows the 830302 subwoofer with large sample/spec differences).
Add a cheap subwoofer crossover
https://www.parts-express.com/search?keywords=parts express low pass&order=relevance:desc
(C)Cheapest find a set of new or used speakers 6.5" MT with @ same box volume and place these in the NHT cabinet. Energy, Mirage, etc. Subwoofer optional.
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayto...Way-Bookshelf-Speaker-Pair-300-652?quantity=1
(It would be funny if you bought the B652 speakers (cheap) hooked it up to the existing crossover and it sounded good)
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You really need to know box volumes to figure out what drivers will work. Measure the sub box and mid box volumes. The tweeter is the easy part. Find the frequency of the crossover and efficiency of the old unit. We’ll go from there.
Noted. Fairly certain all the technical data is thoroughly documented in that 6 part review I posted from http://www.audioexcite.com/?page_id=5386
Will read through it again and see.